Sorry this is slightly late, real life got in the way. Hope you enjoy and thanks again for the support!

Night had fallen by the time the men showed any sign of slowing down. Since the sorcerer had forced the liquid down Merlin's throat, they hadn't opened the cage again. Gwaine had tried to claim it was because they knew he could still defeat them even whilst bound, but Merlin knew it was just him trying to cover up the same nerves that Merlin could feel. He knew it was because opening the cage weakened the spell holding it shut and the sorcerer clearly didn't want to repeat it. That gave him courage; the idea this man was not as strong as he wanted them to believe.

Not that there was anything Merlin could do about it just yet. He could feel his magic beginning to finally calm down, but he still had no true hold on it. It might have been enough to get himself out, but there was no way that he would be able to leave Gwaine. Unless he managed to catch their guards unawares, he knew he wouldn't have time to untie himself, open the cage, untie Gwaine and get out before the sorcerer hit him with something else. Not to mention he wasn't yet certain whether his shield would hold against whatever that spell was. Merlin had never truly accepted what the dragon told him about how powerful he was. But now, with that power severely weakened thanks to whatever that drug had been and the spell, he wanted it back.

"Gwaine?" Merlin reached out and nudged his foot into Gwaine's. He was sure the man hadn't been asleep, but Gwaine's eyes had been shut from where he was being held back against the bars. He immediately started, almost choking himself as he moved and the rope around his neck made its presence known. Merlin winced, but nodded his head at the door. They were coming to a stop.

Gwaine instantly sat up straighter. Merlin wasn't sure whether it was just because he knew these men well or whether it truly was obvious as Gwaine tensed. Merlin knew that as soon as they untied him, the man would be up and fighting. Knowing that he didn't need to be untied to protect his friend, Merlin grappled for his magic. It was still sliding from his hold far more than he was happy with, but Merlin was adamant that he would be able to at least cover Gwaine's back, as long as the man could get hold of a sword to at least begin to get them out of here.

The cage rocked to a stop and Merlin gritted his teeth as someone took hold of the back of his shirt, pulling him back against the bars again. By the way Gwaine suddenly grimaced, he had a feeling his friend had been subjected to the same treatment. The rope around Gwaine's neck fell free and the knight struggled in the hold, but it was to no avail. As the cage door swung open, both men were pulled further back, but Merlin switched his glare onto the sorcerer instead. The man simply stared down at him for a long moment, clearly sensing the defiance coming from both of his prisoners. Gwaine knew how to fight dirty and Merlin knew how to protect himself – binding them was not going to be enough to keep them down.

"Take him."

"Gwaine!" Merlin jerked forward as two men sprang into the cage and grabbed hold of Gwaine, pulling the knight out.

"Don't worry about me, Merlin. I've been in worse scraps than this." Despite the cheerfulness that Gwaine had forced into his voice, there was nothing he could do as the men bodily threw him from the cage, their comrades on hand to haul the knight upwards again and begin dragging him off. Merlin watched for as long as he could until Gwaine was pulled from his sight. Then he allowed his magic to fill him up.

"Who are you? What do you want from us?" It wasn't Merlin the servant speaking, however, but Emrys. The hold on the back of his shirt tightened yet again and Merlin wordlessly allowed his eyes to flare. Instantly, the grip vanished as there were two thuds of pain. The men who had been holding Gwaine drew back slightly, concern evident in their faces. Merlin knew without having to be told that they had believed him subdued. The sorcerer, however, smirked.

"All in good time."

Merlin turned his burning gaze onto the sorcerer. Rather than simply throwing him back, he tried to feel the man's magic, wanting to be able to block his power in the same way the man had done for him. He had never even thought about attempting a spell like that before, but he knew he had to do whatever it took to get back to Arthur's side. Just as he managed to locate the source of the man's power, deep within his soul, a hand snapped across his face.

As someone used to the Crown Prince throwing things at him every day, Merlin didn't even gasp at the slap. But it was enough to throw his concentration and he lost his hold on what it was he had been doing. He pulled upon his magic again, but then a hand closed around his throat. Merlin was lifted into a standing position as the sorcerer pressed him back against the bars, his hand constricting the warlock's airways.

"Your questions will be answered soon enough. But for now, I suggest you do as you are told."

"Why should I do that?" Merlin gasped, struggling to free his hands. He was desperately trying to think of a spell, but the only thing his brain would truly acknowledge was the fact that he needed air. The man smirked, pulling him away from the bars and tossing him from the cage in the same way the men had done for Gwaine.

"You don't know where I've taken your friend. Just a mere thought on my behalf will end your friend's life."

"Just a word on my behalf will end yours," Merlin growled as he was hauled to his feet again, men gripping his arms tightly.

"Can you talk faster than I can think, boy?" There was a sneer on the man's face and before Merlin could say anything, he heard Gwaine yell out from somewhere far out of sight. Merlin found his breathing quickened slightly and he dropped his head. He was by no means going to just sit and wait to be rescued (despite knowing Arthur would forever deny that he was worried, Merlin was certain the rest of the knights would be coming after them), but until he knew that Gwaine was safe, he couldn't do anything.

The sorcerer nodded sharply and before Merlin could even think about keeping his balance, he found a shove in-between his shoulder blade was enough to have him stumbling forward. He was led through a small group of trees in the same direction that Gwaine had been taken in. But hidden by the trees was a series of small huts, almost looking like an entire village. As he was shoved towards them, Merlin shivered at the feeling of magic in the air and knew this sorcerer was either not alone or he had more power than Merlin had previously thought.

He didn't have time to look around before he was forced into a hut. There were no windows and only the one door. A door, Merlin knew instantly, that would be guarded. But his attention was drawn by the set of cuffs resting innocently on the floor. One of the men moved forward and picked them up, the dim light filtering from behind Merlin indicating the delicate runes scratched into them. Instantly, fear crept into Merlin's heart and he tried to back away, only to be grabbed again.

"N-no…" he stuttered, struggling as the ropes around his hands were cut. He managed to trip one man and turned, his hand lifting as he prepared to do magic to get himself out. He couldn't help Gwaine if he was helpless. But fear had clouded his mind and one of the cuffs snapped around his wrist before Merlin could even think of a spell. He couldn't stop the short yell escaping him as his magic instantly bucked and fought violently against the restraint that had just been placed on it. It was enough time for the others to recover and one pressed back on Merlin's shoulder. His back hit the post of the hut before he realised that he had moved and short work was made of snapping the other cuff around the opposite wrist, binding him to it.

"How powerful is he?" One man muttered, but Merlin could only sink into a crouch, pressing his forehead to his knees as he gasped for breath. At that second, he didn't know whether he was trying to free his magic or just stop it from burning. He wasn't aware of the tears sliding uncontrollably down his face, nor the men leaving the hut. The only thing he could think about was how it felt like he was suffocating and he had no idea how to get out of it.

MMM

"The tracks lead north. If we follow them through the night, we should be able to gain on them by dawn." Arthur was leaning perilously over the side of his horse as he spoke, studying the marks on the ground. He didn't want to admit that they were getting fainter. Not because too much time had passed, the knights had been going at a full canter almost as soon as Arthur had regained consciousness. But something seemed to be obscuring them and Arthur cursed the sorcerer under his breath. They were still visible, but only just. The undergrowth was growing wilder here and Arthur knew that it if it carried on this way, they were going to have dismount in order to follow them. Arthur was fully aware that there was also numerous paths they could have taken at this point in the forest.

While he didn't want to admit it – to either his men or himself – Arthur knew their friends were being taken away faster than they would be able to catch up. They couldn't risk taking the wrong path and not realising.

"Sire…"

"Let's move on out." Arthur touched his heels to his horse and nudged the beast into a walk again. He knew that in itself would be telling them that something was wrong, Arthur was gradually slowing down. It wasn't only the fading tracks that were proving to be an issue, but the pounding in his head. He had been able to ignore it to start with, but as the day had gone on, the feeling that his head was about to split open had gradually increased.

"Arthur, wait." It was so rare for Percival to speak up that Arthur found that was enough for him to pause. He looked back over his shoulder to see the knight had dismounted, studying the tracks intently.

"If we go on through the night, we'll lose them." Cursing that he had just made it known that the tracks were fading, Arthur glared.

"Then we light some torches. We don't stop."

"What about if you pass out?"

"Why would I do that?" Arthur knew that the scathing note was present even when he tried to hide it. Leon didn't flinch at his tone though but just gazed back.

"Because you are in pain whether you want to admit it or not, Sire. You know that if Merlin were here, he would refuse to move from this spot unless he at least had a look at you."

"If Merlin were here, Sir Leon, then we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place," Arthur snapped, turning back and moving off again. He was fine, he just needed to focus on finding his knight and his clumsy fool of a servant. It was bad enough that Gwaine had gone.

"Arthur…"

"Damnit, I'm not leaving them!"

The forest seemed to be silent apart from a bird shrieking in alarm at Arthur's shout. The knights all looked at each other, but their prince barely noticed as he rested a hand against a tree and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the dizziness. The worst part was that he knew Leon was right, Merlin wouldn't let him continue until he had found some mystery herb and done something with it that made Arthur's headache disappear. Wondering if he was losing his mind, Arthur smirked slightly at thinking about what his servant would say if he knew that Arthur had trekked most of the night when he was already having trouble focusing his vision on the tracks.

"Sire?"

Arthur started, trying to cover up the fact that he had zoned out slightly, only to see Lancelot standing right in front of him. The knight pulled the reigns out of Arthur's unresisting hand, passing them over his shoulder to where Elyan was waiting. Sometimes, Arthur hated how well they worked together and he could only look from one to the other somewhat helplessly.

"I'm fine," he growled, shrugged off Lancelot's hand from his shoulder and moving away from the tree. Unfortunately for Arthur, his body decided to betray his determination. As soon as he let go of the support, he lurched slightly, having no choice but to stumble a step just to keep himself upright. His eyes shut with a groan again and Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, swallowing down any further noises of pain.

"Come, Sire. Just rest a moment," Arthur still had his eyes shut as Lancelot took his arm and pulled him back. They had just passed through a clearing; that was why Arthur had stopped to make sure they were taking the right path from it. Something unspoken must have shot around his men while Lancelot had been approaching him, however, for they had all dismounted and Percival had even led his horse over to a tree and tethered it there.

"We'll have something to eat, then rest…"

"No, we must press on."

"Arthur…"

"You saw how that man dropped Merlin with a scream? I know Gwaine well enough to know that he wouldn't have gone willing. There is no telling what he will do to them why we sit here."

"Maybe he took the wrong people?" Elyan mused, sharing a look with Lancelot. The latter shrugged, and Arthur wondered whether he was imaging the way he seemed to shift slightly. Deciding it was just the headache playing tricks on him, Arthur threw himself down to the floor. If they were going to insist on stopping, then he certainly wasn't going to make himself comfortable. He wanted to get going, but knew that he was outnumbered. He couldn't do this without his men and if they were this determined to stop, he knew that he had to give them a few hours. That didn't stop him from glaring as Elyan lit a fire.

"We couldn't exactly stop him. If he took the wrong people, why not come back for the right ones?" Arthur half-heartedly turned his glare onto Leon, the man's words not doing anything to soothe the worry he would vehemently deny was coursing through him.

"Gwaine will get them out," Percival muttered, finishing securing the rest of the horses.

"Merlin's not helpless," Lancelot's snap seemed to escape him before he could stop it and Arthur watched as he blushed in the dim firelight. "I just mean… if something happened, he's lived with Gaius long enough, he'll be able to treat anything, he'll keep them healthy."

"We're worried about them as well," Leon said softly, sitting down next to the fire and turning his attention towards his prince. "Arthur?"

"What?" Arthur knew full well. Leon was going to ask him how he was feeling, if he needed anything, what he wanted to do next… Arthur knew full well all he would be able to say was that he needed to get after Gwaine and Merlin. They had just lost Morgana to magic, albeit through her hatred and practice of it rather than a spell as such. Arthur wasn't sure he could lose Merlin as well. Gwaine was a friend and a good knight; no one could deny that despite the way he conducted himself at times. But Merlin had been the one to see the good in Arthur when everyone else just saw him as an attention seeking prince, even if they pandered to his whims rather than admit it. Merlin had made him a better man, and that better man had no intention of letting anything happen to his servant when he could have stopped it.

"What do you want to do, Sire?"

Arthur sighed, the pounding in his increasing as he did so.

"We head out at first light," he muttered quietly. He knew his men would hear his words, but he couldn't stop his head twisting to look in the direction that he had just been about to take, feeling like he was letting the missing two members of their party down by stopping. But now that he had stopped, his stomach had begun to churn unpleasantly and he knew that the blow to the head was beginning to catch up with him slightly. Even if they did manage to track the sorcerer, Arthur knew he was in no condition to fight the man like this, not considering the magic he seemed to have at his disposal. He needed to be rested and at least thinking straight to make sure he didn't get any of the others hurt in the process.

As the others visibly relaxed and began setting up camp, Arthur found himself wondering if they too were trying to hide injuries from the fight, not wanting to seem like they were weakening the rest of the group. He might not be able to save Merlin and Gwaine right now, but Arthur knew he could sort out the rest of his knights.